


Walk into the Fire

by VampireNaomi



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 17:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18721864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireNaomi/pseuds/VampireNaomi
Summary: The man who abandoned Lupin and the man who didn't. Takes place during episode 23 of Part 5.





	Walk into the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> I feel robbed that we never got to see Jigen and Albert interact, so I decided to write a take on it. I didn't tag any pairings since they aren't the focus, but there are tiny mentions of Lupin/Jigen, Lupin/Fujiko and past Lupin/Albert.

Jigen had been stuffed inside the trunk of a car plenty of times in his life, so he could say with confidence that the current experience was one of the most comfortable out there. Sure, it was cramped, and he had to bend his long legs in a way that’d make his knees ache the next day, but at least the trunk wasn’t covered in grime and the stench of death that he was used to in these situations. And his hands weren’t tied nor his mouth gagged, and that did a lot to take away the anxiety that any man would normally feel in his place.

He felt the car come to a halt and heard voices from outside. It wasn’t a long conversation, and then they were moving again. Albert had told him that even if they were stopped by the police, nobody would search the car. He had enough connections that he didn’t have to worry about pesky details like that.

Jigen couldn’t say he’d been happy to see that it was Albert who was offering him a lifeline, but he was getting desperate. It was a long time since he’d last felt this alone and helpless. Both his friends in custody, the whole world knowing his face and hungering for news that he’d been arrested, too, no allies, no supplies, no place to sleep. He didn’t know how long he could face that kind of odds all by himself, and that was just to survive. If he wanted to help Lupin and Goemon, he needed someone to help him first.

It took a little over half an hour before the car stopped again, hopefully for good this time. He wanted to move his knees and roll his shoulders. A glass of whisky to ease the ache would have been good, too, but he wasn’t sure he was in a position to ask for little luxuries like that. 

The driver’s door was slammed shut, then approaching footsteps, and the trunk was opened. There was light, and even though Jigen’s eyes needed time to adjust to it, he didn’t miss the smug crook of Albert’s mouth as he looked down at him.

He got out of the trunk and stretched his back. From the look of it, they were in a windowless garage, probably in a basement. With the entire country’s police force on the lookout for him, it’d be pretty dumb of Albert to take him anywhere that could be connected to his day job or private life. This place had to be rented, or maybe owned under another identity. Lupin did the same thing a lot.

“So, what do you want?” 

There had been no time to ask questions back in the street, but now that he no longer had cops breathing down his neck, Jigen wouldn’t take another step until he got some answers. 

“I guess there’s no point pretending I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart, is there?”

Jigen didn’t even bother answering, only gave Albert the deadliest glare he could. He still had that one bullet he’d been about to bet his life on out there, and he wanted to look like he was ready to use it. It was probably the only leverage he had.

“I bet you have some inside info on Lupin and Goemon. How are they?” he asked. Before fleeing the Shake Hanz headquarters, he’d seen Lupin lying in a pool of blood and Goemon kneeling by his side on one of the screens in Ling’s office. With police storming the building, his only option had been to flee so he could come back later to help his friends.

At least, that was what he’d thought at the time. The two weeks he’d spent hiding and having to rely on whatever bits of news he could catch on TV screens in electronic shops or the pages of discarded newspapers had been slow torture. For a long time, he hadn’t even been sure if Lupin had survived his injuries. What could he do for his friends with no intel, no supplies, and no plan? He felt like a coward who’d only saved his own ass. He should have gone down with them.

“Relatively well, considering the circumstances. That samurai friend of yours cut him up good. If that’s how thieves treat their friends these days, I’m glad I got out.”

“Hey, watch it,” Jigen growled. He had a pretty good idea what had possessed Goemon and Lupin to fight, but it was something they’d deal with amongst themselves. No outsider had the right to make snide comments about them.

Albert reached past him to slam the trunk of the car shut. “You have a lot of bite for someone who’s just been running away for the last two weeks. Could it be that you need Lupin to hold your hand, or else you’re useless?”

That blew life into a spark that had been smoldering in Jigen’s stomach ever since the failure at the Shake Hanz headquarters. He grabbed Albert by his shirt and shoved him down against the car.

“Are you working together with him?” he asked.

“With whom?” Albert’s amusement was gone. The confusion on his face looked genuine, but he’d already proven what a convincing actor he was when he’d fooled Lupin. Jigen had no way of telling when Albert was lying, not a single detail or tick he’d recognize. All he could do was be as intimidating as he could and hope it was enough.

“Enzo Bron. And think twice before you answer. If I feel you’re lying, you aren’t walking out of this garage. You didn’t want the cops to know you took me, so I doubt you’ve got anyone here to help you. If I draw my gun, you’re dead.”

To his credit, if he was alarmed, Albert didn’t let it show on his face. If he still followed the same rule book as Lupin, he probably had something to save his ass in situations like this, like a tazer. But he wouldn’t kill him. He needed him for something.

“What gave you the idea I have anything to do with him? I can sympathize with some of his ideas, but the way he’s carrying them out is pure madness,” Albert said.

“Stop yapping. Can you prove that?”

“If I was working with him, I’d just have let the police get you.” Albert’s smile returned to his face, and he took a hold of Jigen’s wrists to suggest that he push his hands away. “I think it’s better you stop jumping at shadows so we can talk business.”

Jigen kept his hands where they were and clutched Albert’s shirt tighter, enough that it had to hurt. He was sure that if he didn’t, he’d move to grab his throat instead, or punch him to break that smile for good. Anger that he could barely control was humming in his ears. Not at what Albert had done but simply that he existed.

Lupin was secretive about his past and almost never showed his weak spots to anyone, not even him. Jigen could sympathize; he was very much the same. But after all their years together and everything they’d been through, it dismayed him to find out that there was a man like this in Lupin’s past, someone who’d been so important to him that the bruises he’d left still ached today. Lupin had never spoken of Albert, not even hinted at what had happened between them. Jigen didn’t know what to do with the realization that Lupin still kept such secrets from him.

The only place where he could direct that loathing right now was the man in front of him. Jigen thought about Lupin’s distress at Albert slithering back into his life and how simply remembering him had caused him to act so uncharacteristically careless, like a total rookie. He gritted his teeth and wished he could make this asshole suffer, but he’d met guys like Albert before. They thrived on getting a reaction out of someone, and Jigen knew he didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of learning how much he’d rattled Lupin - and him.

Once sure that he could control himself, Jigen took a step back. His nerves were fried raw, but he had to get a grip. He couldn’t help Lupin and Goemon if he was a wreck like this.

Albert’s taunt hadn’t been so different from what Enzo had asked him in Ling’s office. He’d wanted to know if he was happy to be nothing but a bit player in the legacy of Lupin III. As much as it embarrassed and annoyed him now, his words had made Jigen waver.

The year had been rough. Lupin and Fujiko’s attempt at playing a married couple and how unhappy they’d made each other had been tough to watch. In the past, he might have thought he’d enjoy every second of it, but even now it was difficult to see through the dark cloud it’d put over everyone’s lives. The years of teamwork and good memories tasted bitter. That was why he’d been happy to come to France. He’d thought the worst was over. Lupin had seemed like his charismatic, carefree self.

He’d been wrong. Something inside Lupin hadn’t clicked back into place after Fujiko had left. He’d laughed, joked, and flirted with every pretty face he met, sure. He’d cooked for them, built useless gadgets just because they were fun, and talked about books he’d read. His eyes had sparkled when he told them about new treasure. He’d shared Jigen’s cigarettes without words and thought about something, and Jigen had been dumb enough not to realize it wasn’t their usual, comfortable silence. He now wished he’d pressed him harder for answers because as soon as they went on a new adventure and dropped the domestic act, it was clear Lupin wasn’t yet steady on his feet.

He lied to them and kept them in the dark when there was no need to. He didn’t listen to their advice, didn’t ask for their help, and didn’t care about their feelings. During the Lupin Game, he hadn’t told them he and Fujiko had been plotting together to fake his death. They’d had to hear it from her. Lupin had brushed him off when he’d told him going to see Albert alone was insanity. In Padar, he’d left him and Goemon in their hotel with no clue what he was doing.

Each time, Lupin had come so close to death that Jigen didn’t want to think back to it. And each time, he and Goemon had been there barely in time to save him. Over and over again, and yet it seemed like Lupin trusted them less with each new adventure. He wasn’t pushing them away, so they couldn’t fight it. He was just slowly disappearing into shadows that Jigen had thought would never grab a hold of a man like Lupin.

“I have no business with you. I don’t trust you,” he said, annoyed by how lukewarm his voice sounded.

“I don’t need you to trust me. All I want is that you do the job I have in mind.”

“Too bad. It’s been decades since I last had to take jobs from people I can’t stand.”

“Don’t say no when you haven’t even heard what I’ve got to say. You’re in no position to be picky.”

Albert could have promised him the moon from the sky, and Jigen was sure he still wouldn’t have been interested. The man repulsed him. The way the corner of his mouth climbed up when he smiled, the arrogant look in his eyes like he was sure he was invincible, and how every other word out of his mouth was a snide insult - all of it made him think of Lupin at his worst.

And he’d shot Lupin. That was something that’d put anyone on Jigen’s hit list, but it wasn’t enough to be unsettling. People got shot in their line of work all the time. It was part of the business. Jigen could respect men who were just doing their jobs, even if _his_ job was then to take them down. There had been times when yesterday’s enemy had become today’s ally, and some men who’d at first made Jigen’s blood boil were now old friends.

Albert was a man who could watch another bleed to death at his feet and find it amusing. Three days later, he’d run off to the night with Lupin as if he hadn’t almost killed him, as if they were partners again. It meant he’d never wanted to kill him and had only hurt him to gloat. Jigen didn’t like men who played with their food. He didn’t want him back in Lupin’s life.

“It’s actually funny you’d accuse me of working together with Bron when the reason I helped you is that I want to get rid of him and his company,” Albert said. He walked over to the other side of the room where there was a corner that looked like it had been furnished in a haste. There was a couch, a little table, a folding chair and a fridge. None of them matched, but it looked more comfortable than where Jigen had spent his nights lately.

“I’d apologize for not arranging a bed, but your PeopleLog profile says you’d pick the couch anyway. Multiple sources have given that information an A rating,” Albert said and took the chair for himself, crossing one leg over his knee.

Jigen collapsed on the couch with an angry sigh. “Tch, the world’s going to hell with that garbage.” He had checked his profile once when it had gone up. Back then it had had the model of his gun, his favorite alcohol, a tailor he liked to use in New York, and the names of some cities where he’d worked in the past. He wasn’t too worried that there might be something risky because he’d never had any kind of online presence, but the idea that anyone could put anything there and the app would analyze it and decide if it was true was unsettling. It gave too much power to people who could do anything with it.

Perhaps that was what this was all about. Someone like Albert couldn’t afford his secrets to be revealed to the entire world. Surely it was only a matter of time before PeopleLog recognized him in the background of someone’s old holiday photo they’d put online, connected the date with a theft that had happened, drew a pattern and came to the conclusion that he was a criminal. It had already uncovered corruption all over the world. Albert had to feel like there was a clock ticking by his ear day and night.

“You want me to take him out?” he guessed. Their interests sort of aligned there, but not enough for Jigen to consider this interesting. Enzo Bron was the cause of all this, but he wasn’t important right now.

“No, that wouldn’t accomplish anything. People love his app right now. It has turned the whole world into a gladiator show. If he was assassinated, he’d just be seen as a martyr, and his company would become invincible. There are many who’d continue his work.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“Get Lupin out of prison.” 

Jigen sat up at the words, not having expected that but immediately intrigued. That was what he wanted, more than anything else, and if Albert was giving him the tools to do it, he’d put his distaste of him aside.

“Can’t you do that yourself?” he asked.

“The ICPO is in charge. I have no power in international matters, and they’d be suspicious if I tried to poke my nose into their affairs. I don’t dare even google Lupin right now or else PeopleLog might pick it up and connect some dots.” Albert leaned back as much as the rickety chair allowed - Jigen entertained himself with the image of him falling over on his ass - and looked at him like a hunter admiring his game.

“But if you go and rescue him, it won’t be any news. They’re already expecting it. Nobody will look into where you got your supplies from or who might have helped you. Daisuke Jigen will never leave Lupin behind. That’s such a certain fact that there are websites where you can bet on how and when you’ll try, not if.”

The arrogance in Albert’s tone made Jigen want to be a contrarian out of spite, or at least act like he hadn’t already made up his mind. Of course he’d do it. But he hated that it was so obvious it allowed this bastard to use him as a willing pawn in his schemes.

“Unlike you,” he said, the words slipping out before he’d thought them through.

An annoyed crease appeared on Albert’s forehead. “What do you think I’m doing right now?”

“Yeah, but would you risk your own neck to save him? You’re just using me to get the work done. Isn’t that how you got your hands on the notebook, too? By tricking Lupin into stealing it because you either couldn’t or were too much of a coward to try?”

“That’s a little cocky for a man who can’t even run away from the police without help. How long were you planning on hiding inside that costume?”

“I could have left France any time. I chose to stay.” No need to mention that he was pretty much stuck in the country since he couldn’t pass any border controls for as long as they were using all their high-tech tricks to see through disguises and double check fake papers. He needed Lupin for that now and missed the days when his gun was the only thing he had to understand to get by.

But the thought of leaving had never crossed his mind in the first place. Though he’d been unable to do anything for them, he’d wanted to be close to Lupin and Goemon. Waiting for a sign that Lupin had some ace up his sleeve, that this whole mess was just another plot and he just hadn’t been let in on it. He was such a pitiful sucker, but he’d rather hear Lupin had kept him in the dark again than face the fact that they’d been taken down by some social media guru.

The world really wasn’t their playfield anymore. If he’d had any sense in his old bones, he would have left when he had the chance and lived the rest of his days in quiet solitude. He had enough money saved up it wouldn’t have been hard. And he couldn’t say he’d miss the kind of adventures they’d had in Padar or the Shake Hanz headquarters. They involved too much mumbo jumbo that he didn’t understand or care for, and in the end he was always left feeling like he was barely keeping his head above the surface. It wasn’t fun anymore.

It was a sobering thought. He’d followed Lupin out of his old life where he’d felt he was wading through dark, thick mud that kept rising higher with every addition to his body count. Lupin had shown him what it was like to live again. But for a while now, following Lupin had felt like a chore and that he was leading him to places where there was no need for an old-fashioned gunslinger. On the way to Padar, Lupin had joked that Jigen should look into e-sports and take up some shooter game to stay relevant. It hadn’t been very funny then, but now it was depressing.

He couldn’t help but think about Enzo’s words again. He wanted to stay with Lupin, but if that made him unhappy, what should he do? Lupin wouldn’t slow down for anyone. If he wanted to embrace this changing world and stay on top of it, nobody could stop him.

Jigen looked at Albert and felt the exhaustion he’d been trying to ignore for days kick in. Getting out of the business and leaving Lupin had served Albert well. Jigen wondered what would become of him if he did the same. Would he find a new place for himself, or just drift around endlessly?

“What do you need Lupin for? What does he have to do for you this time?” he asked.

“I want him to take on Enzo Bron and beat him at his own game. PeopleLog must be stopped before it causes permanent damage. The people I work with just need an excuse that doesn’t make us look like the villains in the eyes of the dumb masses. Lupin can turn Bron’s app against him.”

“And why do you think he’d bother with all that once I bust him out? He’s not your errand boy.”

Albert let out an exasperated sigh. “Are you really his partner if you have to ask that? Of course he’ll do it. He’s not going to let someone defeat him that badly and then just walk away without a rematch. I know Lupin.”

“You left years ago. Don’t talk like you have any idea what he’s like, or what he’s been through. You weren’t there,” Jigen said.

“Oh? Am I wrong? You think he’s going to run away with his tail between his legs?”

Jigen snorted through his nose and refused to answer. 

“Thought so,” Albert said, voice laced with self-satisfaction. “He might have grown up a little, but in his core, he’s still the same. That’s one reason I left. I knew he’d never amount to more than chasing childish dreams.”

Jigen jumped to his feet and towered over Albert who was still seated. His hand was itching to move back to settle on his Magnum, not to pull it out but just for the sense of certainty that he wouldn’t go too far. He could keep a cool head with a gun in his hand, but his fists didn’t always listen to him.

“And who the hell do you think you are? You talk like you’re better than him, but all I see is a lying scumbag who can’t do his own jobs and just plots behind everyone’s backs! Without Lupin, me and Goemon, you wouldn’t have lasted a second against Calvess’s men. I have no idea what _your_ big dream is supposed to be, but I don’t like you or your methods. You smell rotten.”

“Funny, Lupin never needed a guard dog before. No wonder you’re all bark since he’s not here to hold your leash. He should train you better.”

The burn in his knuckles after he leapt over the table and hit Albert, sending him and his chair flying, was the best thing Jigen had felt in the past two weeks. Finally there was some real emotion on that goddamn face, and he took in the loathing in Albert’s glare, glad that the feeling was mutual.

It was when Albert wiped at his mouth and then turned his eyes down to look at the blood and not him that Jigen realized why they were unable to talk to each other like grown men. He hated Albert because he’d once been so important to Lupin that the thought of him still caused him to take missteps, that _his_ Lupin was still thinking about the past when he had Jigen right there. 

And Albert hated him because of what he was to Lupin today. Jigen didn’t know if he even gave a damn about Lupin anymore or wanted him back, but he’d seen that look before. Some men just got a kick out of knowing the scars they’d inflicted would never heal. Albert’s whole plan with the black notebook had relied on toying with Lupin as much as possible.

The worst part of it for Jigen was that, unless Lupin still hadn’t told him the whole truth, Albert hadn’t actually done anything to him. No stab in the back, no leaving him behind to be caught or to die on a heist. He’d just decided he wanted to do something else with his life, the same way that Fujiko had packed her bags and been gone one morning. Lupin was rarely shaken, but when the few people he allowed close let him down, he fell into despair.

When Lupin had come back after taking down José, he’d seemed relaxed and free, like the adventure with Albert had actually helped him to sever whatever ties there’d been left. There’d never be a second time that Albert could get under his skin like that. But just in case, Jigen would stand by Lupin’s side so that he never had to think about old partners again.

“I’ll break Lupin out of prison with whatever bone you’re throwing me. I’m not dumb enough to think I can do it without help. But after that, I’m going to talk him into retiring and leaving this whole mess behind. You won’t get to use him in your plot.”

“I’m not holding a gun to his head and forcing him into anything. He’ll take Enzo Bron down because it’s what he wants to do. By all means, tell him everything I’ve told you tonight. You know just as well as I do it won’t make a difference.”

In his gut, Jigen knew Albert was right. Lupin would never just accept the kind of defeat he’d suffered at the Shake Hanz headquarters. The only thing that might hold him back was that Enzo was Ami’s father.

“You have a lot of faith in Lupin,” he said as a thought struck him.

Albert got up from the floor, straightened his glasses and dusted off his pants. “Of course. I know how he operates.”

“Then you also know what a spiteful little bastard he can be. Wouldn’t it be better for you if he stayed in prison? What if he posts all about your past on PeopleLog as soon as I bust him out? I bet he’s got evidence to back up every claim.”

“I’m sure he’ll try to ruin me one day,” Albert said, almost ruefully. “But he’s not going to do it through an app his enemy created. It’s not personal enough. He’ll wait until he can do it in a way that’ll really hurt. Just like I never tried to contact him to let him know Gaston had died, so he missed the funeral and walked straight into my trap.”

“Doesn’t that just give you more reasons to keep him in prison?”

Albert shrugged. “Right now, I benefit more if he escapes. I’ll think about the rest later. He knows I’m not easy to take down. I used to be in the running for the title of Lupin III. You need to be far craftier than average for the honor.”

“And crazier than average, too, I bet.”

“Are you referring to me or Lupin?”

“You’re both totally nuts.”

There was a crate on the other side of the garage. Albert pulled off the fabric covering it to reveal it was filled to the brim with firearms and ammunition. Jigen couldn’t help but whistle and tilt his hat up in respect. Government connections could help you buy anything, he guessed.

“You sure this isn’t an overkill?” he asked and went to examine the haul.

“They’re requesting assistance from military police to transport them.”

“Not an easy job, then, especially for one guy. What would you have done if I’d said I wasn’t going to do this?”

“I knew you wouldn’t. Your PeopleLog profile says you’ve never turned your back on Lupin. I guess he’s made a reliable choice for his knight in shining armor.”

Jigen loaded his Magnum and smiled at the familiar sound of the cylinder clicking shut.

“Yeah, he’s not the type to make the same mistake twice.”


End file.
